Some big names were bandied about to take his spot.Д«radshaw, who along with Brown and Long had been with the show since the start, was given a list of potential candidates. His departure was a big one for the rising network, which had claimed a strong foothold in the NFL market. (Michael Wagstaffe/Yahoo Sports) How Curt Menefee broke in at Fox: Cornish hens and pushup contestsД«rown had been Fox's NFL pregame host since its 1994 launch. 'But heвЂ™s also our therapist, our field general and our emotional center.'Д¬urt Menefee is the 'engine,' according to Terry Bradshaw, behind the successful 'FOX NFL Sunday' pregame show. 'Yes, heвЂ™s our host,' says Glazer, the newest core member of the show.

I can't imagine working with a better group of people.'ДЄnd now they can't imagine anyone else in Menefee's role. Those guys make it easy for me, and it's been that way right from the start. 'If you had a camera on in the green room before we go on, it's the same as what we do on air. 'I hope people can see that our chemistry, what happens on the show, it's real,' Menefee says. Richards credits Menefee for putting in extra time early on in his role, knowing that 'instant chemistry just isn't a thing. They all like each other, they don't step on each other's toes, and it shows onscreen. That, Bradshaw and Glazer agree, is what makes the show's chemistry so strong. Sometimes itвЂ™s better to pass to those guys and get the assist.' You donвЂ™t try to drive the lane and score every time if you are surrounded by 7-footers. That is your value: understanding your role. 'As long as you remember who you are, itвЂ™s not that you have no value. Who gives a crap what Curt Menefee thinks about Rodgers and his responsibility to his team? 'Most of the time when we're doing a segment - let's say, the Aaron Rodgers situation,' Menefee says. Preferring to deflect the attention elsewhere, just as he does as the show's facile bandleader/general/engine, Menefee says he's happy to play the role of pass-first point guard dishing to a talent-rich roster. 'HeвЂ™s extremely talented, so smart and knows football.' He plays guitar and bass, is an avid reader and a world traveler, having visited more than 80 countries and all seven continents.

Menefee's balance also extends beyond the sport they cover. It's important to have that complement to all the guys who played football or coached.' 'But he's just so worldly and smart, we knew it wouldn't be long before he found his natural role. 'We had to remind ourselves early on, he's not J.B.,' producer Bill Richards says. Menefee replaced Brown, one of the industry's giants, as the show's host in 2006 and has helped steer ratings to higher levels than before Brown left for CBS. He gets the how and when, and he just loves football. But makes the sum of our parts greater than the whole. WeвЂ™re a much, much better show than we were before. 'Curt could do our jobs,' Bradshaw says, 'but we could not do his. But in Bradshaw's mind, what they do in their hour-long pregame show could not be done without their 56-year-old Renaissance Man host. Menefee might be the least-famous member of the team, which boasts four Hall of Famers, a combined eight Super Bowl rings, dozens of Emmys and even acting roles in movies among it. 'Curt is the вЂ¦ (to Tammy) Hey, honey, whatвЂ™s the part of the train with the engine? вЂ¦ Oh, itвЂ™s just called the engine? No fancy name for it? OK, Curt's the engine of the train, pulling us through.' He's talking on his wife Tammy's cell phone, and Bradshaw ropes her in to help get his thoughts back on track. Duke Ellington? Maybe thatвЂ™s it.'Д«radshaw even likens Menefee to midcentury actor William Powell, often typecast in debonair, urban-sophisticate roles. ItвЂ™s my job to stay out of everyoneвЂ™s way. 'Jay is the guy on the outside of the circle saying, вЂWhat about me?! What about me?!вЂ™ Howie would be the guy who always says, вЂNo, thatвЂ™s not going to work,вЂ™ all serious, like a second lieutenant. 'Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson are the ringleaders, the instigators,' Bradshaw posits. Bradshaw's thoughts flow endlessly and feverishly about their merry band of pranksters, including Menefee, the unsung glue holding the entire operation together. Bradshaw is running through every metaphor he can muster - musical, military, locomotive, you name it - to pin down everyone's roles and exactly how Menefee elevates the show and keeps it running so smoothly.

Lawrence welk cast on first show